


Tame the Ghosts in My Head

by madneto



Series: Untitled High School AU [2]
Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Boys with feelings, M/M, Mentions of alcoholism, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-05
Updated: 2012-07-05
Packaged: 2017-11-09 05:08:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/451656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madneto/pseuds/madneto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erik is trying to sleep but his brain won't turn off. Luckily, Charles is feeling a little restless as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tame the Ghosts in My Head

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to leave this fic just as a one-shot but then I wrote this and couldn't resist posting it. Anyway. Hope you like it!

Erik stared up at the ceiling, willing his brain to just calm down and _let him sleep_. Moonlight was shining in through the gap in the curtains across from his bed, and while the brightness was doing nothing to help him drift off, the soft sound of crickets spilling in through the crack in the window and the whirr of his fan weren’t soothing him either as they usually did. He let out a quiet sound of frustration, punching his pillow and rolling onto his side to stare at the door, pointedly ignoring the clock.

He had been tossing and turning for hours. It had been almost eleven when Erik had come back to the house, and at least one when he heard his uncle switch off the television, pad up the squealing steps, and drunkenly slam the door of his bedroom shut. Of course, Erik hadn’t been asleep even then, but he had been pretending- not wanting to make a noise and remind Shaw that he was, in fact, here. Such a reminder, when paired with half a bottle of whiskey, tended to not be a very fun combination for Erik.

Now that his uncle was passed out, however, Erik felt free to toss and turn on his creaking cot as much as he liked. No, “liked” wasn’t the right word. He hated it, hated being here when he knew full well he could have stayed with Charles. It’s not like his uncle would have minded, at least not until he woke up in the morning, and Erik could have set an alarm early enough; left before Shaw woke up, stayed with Charles all night talking and-

Erik scrubbed a hand over his face, flipping violently onto his back again. A loud snore emanated from the room across the hall and he froze, heart suddenly pounding out of more than irritation. Several tense seconds passed, but there was no more noise to suggest Shaw had woken. Erik let himself relax, letting out his breath in a rush.

One more month. Graduation was in one month, and then it would be summer and Erik would be working at the restaurant more often, making money to go to Columbia with Charles in the fall. He would be over at Charles’ house more often too, swimming in the lake, and playing chess until one in the morning, and then talking- and _not_ talking- until the sun came up.

Like they could have done tonight. Erik tamped down the thought quickly before it could bother him more. He didn’t have to spend every waking moment with Charles. He was a completely independent human being with his own agenda, which differed from Charles’ as often as it coincided. That didn’t change the fact, though, that Charles was starting to occupy more and more of Erik’s thoughts, and that although he had never wished for anyone to coddle him or look at him with pity since his parents’ death, he somehow sometimes wanted Charles to be there just to hold him. 

Because with Charles, things were different. Charles didn’t look at him like he was going to break, or like he didn’t know what to do when Erik got upset and closed off. He didn’t say well-meaning but useless things like, “I’m sorry” on the rare occasions that Erik opened up, which sometimes ended in tears much to Erik’s embarrassment. He always knew when words wouldn’t suffice and when Erik didn’t want to hear them. It was refreshing in the oddest way.

When his parents had died, and he had moved in with Shaw only to be abused and ignored in turn, he thought the last of his humanity had been stripped from him. Charles had changed all that, and although he was still bitter sometimes, and often unhappy, and disliked talking to strangers or those overly optimistic or religious, he now felt he wasn’t completely lost to his rage. It was still there, and probably always would be to an extent, but it wasn’t hurting him anymore.

It wasn’t the thing keeping him awake and restless on his uncomfortable bed.

Erik sighed, rolling over onto his side again, and attempting to push all thoughts of Charles to the back of his mind. He took a deep breath, contemplating maybe sneaking down to the kitchen to heat up some milk like his mother used to do when he was little and couldn’t sleep, when there was a quiet buzzing from the phone on his nightstand. 

He reached for it immediately, unlocking the screen so he could see the message; only one person would text him this late at night.

_I wish you’d have stayed. I can’t sleep._

Erik grinned, flopping back down on the bed and raising the phone above him so he could type his reply. _I can’t either. Although I doubt there would be much sleeping anyway if I’d stayed._ He considered the text for a moment, wondering if maybe it was too presumptuous; if it would be a mistake to send it. But then again this was Charles, and he hadn’t done anything to damage whatever it was between them yet, even when he’d said much worse things. He pressed send.

There was a short pause, which Erik endured impatiently, then the phone buzzed on his stomach again. _Teasing is unfair, Erik, it’s far too early in the morning for that._

_I wasn’t teasing, I was simply stating a fact._

_Be that as it may, I’d prefer still not being able to sleep with you here rather than us both being awake and apart._

Erik’s stomach flipped, and he had to bite his lip to keep his smile from growing absurd. He thought for a long moment, then simply answered, _Me too. I could come over tomorrow, though, if you’re not busy._

 _I’m not :)_ , was the answer, _Come over whenever you want to, just text me first. Also, I got your graduation present today._

Erik’s brow furrowed. _What is it?_

_You’ll just have to wait a month to see, won’t you?_

_Oh, I’ll find out before then. Trust me._

_You can try, but you’ll never find it and I’m not going to tell you what it is._

_Never?_ Erik answered with a grin. _You sound pretty confident._

_Do your worst, Mr Lehnsherr. I’ll never talk._

Erik had to stifle a laugh with his hand. He was selfishly glad Charles was unable to sleep as well; just talking to him made Erik feel better, calm and complacent enough that he supposed he might be able to fall asleep finally. 

_You’d better brace yourself for tomorrow, then,_ he said, his eyes drooping just a tad in his bonelessness. 

_I look forward to it._ Erik could practically hear Charles’ smugness through the letters on screen. _Until then, sweet dreams, Erik._

_Goodnight, Charles._

He waited for about another minute just in case, but there was no reply. His eyes flickered closed, his breathing steadily evening out, until, before he knew it, Erik was asleep, one hand still curled lightly around the cell phone resting on his stomach.


End file.
